System and method for mobile check deposit with restricted endorsement

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method includes receiving, from a mobile device, a deposit request including a first check image for funds to be deposited into a user account, determining a risk level associated with the deposit request, requesting a second check image having a restricted endorsement based on the risk level, receiving the second check image having the restricted endorsement, determining a confidence level based on the restricted endorsement, and transferring the funds to the user account based on the confidence level.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/496,480, filed Sep. 25, 2014 and titled “SYSTEM AND METHODFOR MOBILE CHECK DEPOSIT WITH RESTRICTED ENDORSEMENT,” now U.S. Pat. No.10,846,667, which further claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/885,463, filed on Oct. 1,2013 and titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOBILE CHECK DEPOSIT WITHRESTRICTED ENDORSEMENT,” all of which are incorporated by reference intheir entireties and for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Mobile communication devices having a wireless internet connection, suchas a cellular phone or a smart phone, may be used to deposit checks to afinancial account held with a financial institution. The checks may bedeposited through a website of the financial institution or via anapplication run by the mobile device. A check may be deposited bycapturing one or more images of the check and sending the imagesremotely to the financial institution. The financial institution reviewsthe images and either accepts or rejects the deposit based on theimages. If accepted by the financial institution, the financialinstitution may make the funds immediately available to the accountholder. However, the check is retained by the account holder and remainsfree of any markings suggesting the check has been deposited. As such,the account holder may be able to cash the check with a check cashingservice to again receive the value of the check. If the check cashingservice has possession of the check (and thus priority) and thefinancial institution is unable to recover the funds distributed to theaccount holder (e.g., the financial account has a negative value), thefinancial institution may then lose the amount of the check.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One embodiment relates to a computer-implemented method which includesreceiving, from a mobile device, a deposit request including a firstcheck image for funds to be deposited into a user account, determining arisk level associated with the deposit request, requesting a secondcheck image having a restricted endorsement based on the risk level,receiving the second check image having the restricted endorsement,determining a confidence level based on the restricted endorsement, andtransferring the funds to the user account based on the confidencelevel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a computer-implemented check processingsystem, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a process for receiving a check depositrequest, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is screen view of a mobile device implementing the checkprocessing system of FIG. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a screen view of the mobile device capturing an image of theback of the check, according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a computer-implemented check processing system 100using a mobile device 110 is shown, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The check processing system 100 may be utilized by a user ofthe mobile device 110 (e.g., an account holder, recipient user, etc.) todeposit checks to an account held by a financial institution. The usermay be a business entity and/or an individual consumer that has one ormore accounts with the financial institution. The mobile device 110 canbe used to transmit check images and other user-provided data to arecipient bank computer system 120. Additionally, funds can betransferred from the source account bank to the recipient account bank.Alternatively, the source account and the recipient account can be heldat a single financial institution. While, in the example of FIG. 1 amobile device 110 is shown, as will be appreciated, the recipient mayalso use other devices (e.g., laptop or desktop computer system, notshown) to capture and transmit an image of a check to the financialinstitution.

The check processing system 100 may include, among other systems, themobile device 110 (e.g., cellular phone, smart phone, tablet, mobilehandheld wireless e-mail device, personal digital assistant, portablegaming device, tablet, laptop, camera, etc.), the recipient bankcomputer system 120, and a source account bank computer system 130. Themobile device 110, the recipient bank computer system 120, and thesource account bank computer system 130 may communicate through anetwork 160, which may include one or more of a cellular network, awireless local area network (WLAN), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, a proprietary bankingnetwork, and so on. The network 160 may connect the mobile device 110 tothe Internet, such as via a wireless network access point or otherconnection. The mobile device 110, the recipient bank computer system120, and the source account bank computer system 130 may each comprise acomputer system (e.g., one or more servers each with one or moreprocessors) configured to execute instructions, send and receive datastored in memory, and perform other operations to implement theoperations described herein associated with logic or processes shown inFIGS. 2-4.

The mobile device 110 can be configured to access resources provided bya financial institution using an application or a web browser with aconnection to a communications network (e.g. the Internet). Thefinancial institution may publish applications to the user mobile device110 using various digital online marketplaces. The name or web addressof the marketplace may depend on the operating system of the mobiledevice 110. The individuals may, for example, use the mobile device 110to perform banking tasks such as making deposits. Examples of operatingsystems include iOS®, Windows Phone®, Symbian®, Android®, Blackberry®,WebOs®, and so on.

The mobile device 110 may allow a recipient of a check to deposit thefunds from the check writer's account to a financial institution accountowned by the recipient. The mobile device 110 may send information thatis on the check to the financial institution to receive funds from thecheck writer's account. Although in the illustrated embodiment themobile device 110 is used to deposit a check using a financialinstitution application, it will be appreciated that the mobile devicemay deposit a check using different mechanisms, for example, through anonline banking area of a web site of the banking institution that allowsa user to upload the image of the check.

The mobile device 110 may be used by an individual user (e.g., abusiness owner or employee, a consumer, and so on) to deposit funds toan account. The mobile device 110 comprises a network interface logic112, display device 114, input device 115, image capture device 116, andOCR system 117. Network interface logic 112 may include, for example,program logic that connects the mobile device 110 to the network 160. Asdescribed in greater detail below, for example, the mobile device 110may receive and display screens for mobile check deposit, accountinformation, transaction instructions, and so on. In an exampleembodiment, such screens may be used to request authenticationinformation (e.g. username and password). Such screens may also be usedto prompt the user to provide additional information associated with thecheck, such as regarding the amount of the funds written on the checkand which business or individual has paid the recipient by a check. Suchscreens may also be used to prompt the user to provide one or moreimages of the check, such as a check image including a restrictedendorsement. Such screens are presented to the user via the displaydevice 114. The input device 115 may be used to permit the user toinitiate account access and to facilitate receiving requestedinformation from the user. As will be appreciated, in addition to orinstead of the mobile device 110, users may also be provided with theability to access the check processing system 100 using another type ofcomputer (e.g., a desktop or laptop computer executing browser software)to perform the operations described herein as being performed by themobile device 110.

The display device 114 may be configured to generate images and a userinterface for the user of the mobile device 110. For example, thedisplay device 114 may prompt the user to enter the check informationregarding a check deposit transaction. The display device 114 providesvisual feedback to the user when the user attempts to use the imagecapture device 116 to capture an image of a check. In one example, thedisplay device 114 may display guides over the image generated by theimage capture device 116 to allow the user to frame the image of thecheck within a desired area of the screen. The display device 114 can belocated on an opposing side of the mobile device 110 as the imagecapture device 116. The opposing orientation of the image capture device116 compared to the display device allows a user to view the displaydevice while the image capture device 116 is facing away from the user.In other mobile devices, the display device 114 can also be located onthe same side of the mobile device 110 as the image capture device 116.Other mobile devices can include a plurality of image capture devices116.

The image capture device 116 may comprise a camera, scanner or anothersuitable image capture device that is configured to capture the image ofa check. The image capture device 116 can include one or more lenses andan image sensor configured to record the images on the memory system ofthe mobile device 110. The image capture device 116 can be integratedinto the body of the mobile device 110. The image capture device 116 maybe configured to capture an image of a written instrument such as acheck, cashier's check, bank check or other types of negotiableinstrument. The mobile device 110 transmits the image to a financialinstitution computer system (e.g., recipient bank computer system 120).

Upon receiving the image of the check captured by the image capturedevice 116, the mobile device 110 may request that the OCR system 117determine the location of characters such as text within the checkimage. The OCR system 117 can be an application stored on the mobiledevice 110 or the OCR system 117 can be located on the recipient bankcomputer system 120. The OCR system 117 determines the characters andtheir locations by optical character recognition algorithms. In anexample embodiment, the OCR system 117 may determine a level ofcertainty that a character has been correctly recognized. For example,if the level of certainty is above a first threshold (e.g., 70%), thecharacter may be considered correctly recognized. If the level ofcertainty is below a first threshold (e.g., 50%), the character may beconsidered unrecognizable, and the user may be prompted to manuallyenter the character. If the level of certainty is between the first andsecond thresholds, the character may be considered uncertain, and theuser may be prompted to confirm that the character was correctlyrecognized or to manually enter a different character.

The recipient bank computer system 120 includes account processing logic122, account database 124, and network interface logic 127. The computersystem 120 may be operated by a first banking entity that maintains andhandles transaction processing for the recipient's accounts. Thecomputer system 120 is configured to store information regarding therecipient's accounts. By way of example, information for a specificrecipient account, designated by reference numeral 125, is shown asbeing stored in a database 124. As will be appreciated, database 124 mayalso store information regarding many other accounts (not shown).

The account 125 holds funds that are transmitted to the recipient uponreceiving check deposit instructions from the recipient through themobile device 110. Funds may flow into and out of the account 125. Therecipient bank computer system 120 is connected to the source accountbank computer system 130 through the network 160. Network interfacelogic 127 may include, for example, program logic that connects thecomputer system 120 to the network 160.

The recipient bank computer system 120 may receive requests to depositfunds from a mobile device 110 in the form of a check deposit request.The mobile check deposit system 140 may be part of a single or adistributed computer system that is part of the recipient bank computersystem 120. The mobile check deposit system 140 includes an accountidentification logic 142, a risk assessment logic 144, a restrictedendorsement request logic 146, a restricted endorsement assessment logic148, and a check deposit logic 150. The check deposit request mayinclude the amount of the funds to be deposited, the account into whichthe funds are to be deposited, and one or more images of the physicalcheck(s) that were captured by a mobile device 110. The mobile checkdeposit system 140 is configured to determine the bank information (e.g.routing number, account number, check number) that is printed on theimage of the check.

When the check deposit request is received (e.g., by computer system120), the account identification logic 142 determines identifyinginformation based on the check deposit request. In an exemplaryembodiment, the check deposit request includes user-provided depositinformation and an image of a front of the check to be deposited (i.e.,a first check image). The identifying information may includeinformation related to the account (e.g., account holder, accountnumber, account history, date opened, etc.) and/or the deposit (e.g.,deposit amount, check number, check date, payor, etc.). The accountidentification logic 142 includes an OCR system that determines thenumbers and characters within the check image in order to determineidentifying information related to the check deposit request.

The account identification logic 142 sends the identifying informationto the risk assessment logic 144. The risk assessment logic 144determines a risk level associated with the check deposit request basedon the identifying information. The risk assessment logic 144 may alsorequest and receive other account information from the account database124 when the identifying information is received and use thisinformation to determine the risk level. In an exemplary embodiment, therisk assessment logic 144 determines the risk level by requesting a riskassessment from an account verification service 170 (e.g., a creditagency, a network of financial institutions, etc.) based on theidentifying information. The recipient bank computer system 120 isconnected to the account verification service 170 by a network 180 oranother similar network (e.g., network 160). The account verificationservice 170 includes network interface logic 174 for connecting theaccount verification service 170 to the network 180. The risk assessmentlogic 144 sends the identifying information to the account verificationservice 170 through the network 180 via the recipient bank computersystem 120. The account verification service 170 determines the risklevel (e.g., by risk assessment logic 172) and sends the risk level tothe risk assessment logic 144. In this embodiment, the accountverification service 170 utilizes the identifying information to obtainadditional risk information associated with the account and/or thecheck. For instance, the risk level may include an overall risk of theaccount and/or the account holder, which may be based on priortransaction history, an account balance, a credit history, a priorhistory of fraud, and the like. The risk level may also include a riskassociated with the check, which may be based on an amount of the check,whether the check has been involved in a prior fraud, a likelihood thecheck will be returned, and the like. The risk level may be binary(e.g., high or low, above or below a threshold, etc.) or the risk levelmay be based on a scale (e.g., from 0 to 1000).

When the risk assessment logic 144 determines that the risk level is ator below a specified risk threshold (e.g., low risk), the deposit may beaccepted. In one embodiment, the identifying information is sent to thecheck deposit logic 150 and the check deposit logic 150 transmits theamount and any necessary account information to the financialinstitution to trigger a transfer of funds to the account 125 of therecipient (e.g., user, account holder, etc.). In another embodiment, themobile check deposit system 140 requests and receives an image of theback of the check, such as by endorsement request logic, determineswhether the requested image is acceptable, and then sends any necessaryinformation to check deposit logic 150 for transferring the funds toaccount 125. When the risk assessment logic 144 determines that the risklevel is above the specified risk threshold (e.g., high risk), however,the restricted endorsement request logic 146 may query the user toprovide a restricted endorsement. The restricted endorsement requestlogic 146 sends a message (i.e., a restricted endorsement message) tothe mobile device 110 requesting the restricted endorsement. Therestricted endorsement request logic 146 may also indicate a reason forthe request (e.g., excessive deposit amount, low account balance, etc.)within the restricted endorsement message. The restricted endorsementmessage instructs the user of the mobile device 110 to write therestricted endorsement in a specified area on the back of the check,capture an image of (i.e., photograph) the back of the check includingthe restricted endorsement, and submit the image (e.g., second checkimage) via the mobile device 110 (e.g., to the recipient bank computersystem 120).

The restricted endorsement assessment logic 148 receives the secondcheck image and determines a confidence level of the restrictedendorsement based on the second check image. The restricted endorsementassessment logic 148 utilizes an OCR system that determines thecharacters of the restricted endorsement and their locations in thecheck that is being deposited using the mobile device 110. In oneembodiment, the OCR system is OCR system 117. The OCR system can be anapplication stored on the mobile device 110 or the OCR system can belocated on the recipient bank computer system 120. The OCR systemdetermines the characters and their locations by optical characterrecognition algorithms.

The restricted endorsement assessment logic 148 determines a confidencelevel for the restricted endorsement, which may include whether thecontent of the restricted endorsement is sufficient and/or whether therestricted endorsement is contained within the specified area. Theconfidence level may be binary (e.g., high or low) or the confidencelevel may be determined on a scale (e.g., from 0 to 1000). In oneembodiment, the restricted endorsement assessment logic 148 determines alevel of certainty that a character within the restricted endorsementhas been correctly recognized. For example, if the level of certainty isabove a first threshold (e.g., 70%), the character may be consideredcorrectly recognized. If the level of certainty is below a firstthreshold (e.g., 50%), the character may be considered unrecognizable.In this embodiment, the confidence level for the restricted endorsementmay be based on a percentage of characters within the restrictedendorsement that are recognizable.

In exemplary embodiments, the restricted endorsement assessment logic148 requires the restricted endorsement to include a word or phrase,such as “FOR DEPOSIT ONLY,” “FOR DEPOSIT ONLY TO X” where ‘X’ is thename of the financial institution, or “FOR DEPOSIT ONLY TO ACCOUNT X”where ‘X’ is the name of an account holder or an account number. Inthese embodiments, the restricted endorsement assessment logic 148 maydetermine the confidence level on the content of the restrictedendorsement. In one embodiment, the restricted endorsement assessmentlogic 148 determines that the confidence level is high enough to deliverthe funds only if the entire phrase is recognizable within the secondcheck image. In another embodiment, the restricted endorsementassessment logic 148 determines that the confidence level is high enoughto deliver the funds if a majority of the phrase is recognizable withinthe second check image. The restricted endorsement assessment logic 148may also determine the confidence level based on a location of therestricted endorsement. For instance, the restricted endorsementassessment logic 148 may determine a lower confidence level if therestricted endorsement is not within the specified area, such asendorsement area 502 (see FIG. 4). The confidence level may also bebased on any other requirements as may be suitable for the particularuse of the system 100.

When the restricted endorsement assessment logic 148 determines theconfidence level for the restricted endorsement is sufficient (e.g.,high or greater than a specified confidence threshold), then identifyinginformation is sent to the check deposit logic 150 for transmitting theamount and any necessary account information to the financialinstitution to trigger the transfer of funds to the account 125 of theuser. When the restricted endorsement logic 148 determines theconfidence level for the restricted endorsement is not sufficient (e.g.,low, at or below the specified confidence threshold, etc.), then therestricted endorsement request logic 146 either sends an additionalrestricted endorsement message or the mobile check deposit system doesnot accept the check deposit request.

The source account computer system 130 includes account processing logic132, accounts database 134, and network interface logic 137. The bankaccount logic 139 may be operated by a second banking entity thatmaintains and handles transaction processing for source accounts. Thedatabase 134 may store information for a source account, designated byreference numeral 135 in FIG. 1. The source account 135 may be a demanddeposit account held by a user with another financial institution thatwrote a check to the recipient. Although in the illustrated embodimentthe computer systems 120 and 130 are shown as being separate and ascommunicating through a network 160, it will be appreciated that thecomputer systems 120 and 130 may also be integrated in a single paymentprocessing system (e.g., if the two financial institutions are thesame).

Referring now to FIG. 2, flow chart 200 illustrates a process fordepositing a check using the check processing system 100, according toan exemplary embodiment. At 202, a check deposit request is received(e.g., by the recipient bank computer system 120) for funds to bedeposited into the account 125. In an exemplary embodiment, the checkdeposit request includes the first check image. For example, the usermay use the mobile device 110 to capture an image of the front of acheck (e.g., the first check image) and send it to the recipient bankcomputer system 120 as part of the check deposit request. At 204, a risklevel is determined for the check deposit request. The risk level isdetermined by the risk assessment logic 144. The risk level may bedetermined based on the associated account and/or the check beingdeposited. In an exemplary embodiment, the risk level is determinedbased on a risk assessment performed by the account verification service170. At 206, a restricted endorsement is requested based on the risklevel. In an exemplary embodiment, the restricted endorsement isrequested if the risk level is above a specified risk level threshold.The user is required to write the restricted endorsement on the back ofthe check and within a specified area (e.g., the endorsement area 502).At 208, the restricted endorsement is received (e.g., by the recipientbank computer system 120). At 210, a confidence level is determinedbased on the restricted endorsement. At 212, funds are transferred to auser account based on the confidence level. In an exemplary embodiment,the funds are transferred to the user account if the confidence level isabove a specified confidence level threshold.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example screen 300 is shown on mobile device110 to initiate a mobile check deposit. The user may choose from one ormore accounts 302 to receive the funds from the check deposit. In theexample shown, the user chooses to deposit funds to an account 302 (“ABCAccount 1234567890”). Accordingly, account 302 corresponds to the useraccount 125 described above in connection with FIG. 1. As shown inscreen 300, the depositor 304 is an optional field that may be filledout by the user. In order to deposit a check the user may enter a checkamount 306. The user may navigate menu selections to upload one or moreimages of the check at front image and back image menu items. When auser selects an image capture button 308, a screen as shown in FIG. 4may be displayed to facilitate capturing an image of a front of thecheck (i.e., the first check image). When a user chooses to select animage capture button 310, a screen as shown in FIG. 4 may be displayedto facilitate capturing an image of a back of the check (i.e., thesecond check image). In an exemplary embodiment, continue button 312 isselectable once the user provides input for the account 302, checkamount 306, and image capture button 308 to send the check depositrequest. In this embodiment, the image capture button 310 is notselectable until the user provides input for the account 302, checkamount 306, image capture button 308, and presses the continue button312. The continue button 312 may also be selectable once the userprovides input for the account 302, check amount 306, and image capturebuttons 308 and 310.

Referring to FIG. 4, a screen shot 400 for capturing an image of theback of a check 500 is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment. Thescreen in FIG. 4 displays a rectangular guide box 402 that is overlaidover the image that is being captured by the image capture device 116.In some embodiments, instructions may be provided within the guide box402 for instructing the user regarding how to capture the back of thecheck 500. In one embodiment, the lines at the edge of the guide box 402may be colored red until the back of the check is detected by the imagecapture device 116. Upon detecting that a check is within the lines ofthe guide box 402, the color of the guidelines may change to green fromred to provide visual feedback to the user to press the camera button404. Pressing the camera button 404 activates the digital shuttermechanism and an image is stored in the memory of the mobile device 110.

The check 500 is also shown in FIG. 4. The check 500 includes anendorsement area 502 and an area 508. Within the endorsement area 502 isa restricted endorsement 504. In this embodiment, the restrictedendorsement 504 includes the text “FOR DEPOSIT ONLY” and is in capitalletters. In other embodiments, the restricted endorsement may includeother words or phrases, as described above. A signature 506 is alsoincluded within the endorsement area 502.

The embodiments of the mobile check deposit are described with referenceto drawings. The drawings illustrate certain details of specificembodiments that implement the systems and methods and programs of thepresent invention. However, describing the invention with drawingsshould not be construed as imposing on the invention any limitationsthat may be present in the drawings. The present invention contemplatesmethods, systems and program products on any machine-readable media foraccomplishing its operations. The embodiments of the present inventionmay be implemented using an existing computer processor, or by a specialpurpose computer processor incorporated for this or another purpose orby a hardwired system.

As noted above, embodiments within the scope of the present inventioninclude program products comprising machine-readable media for carryingor having machine-executable instructions or data structures storedthereon. Such machine-readable media can be any available media that canbe accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or othermachine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable mediacan comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and whichcan be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer orother machine with a processor. Combinations of the above are alsoincluded within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executableinstructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purposeprocessing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described in the generalcontext of method steps which may be implemented in one embodiment by aprogram product including machine-executable instructions, such asprogram code, for example in the form of program modules executed bymachines in networked environments. Generally, program modules includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Machine-executable instructions, associated data structures, and programmodules represent examples of program code for executing steps of themethods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executableinstructions or associated data structures represent examples ofcorresponding acts for implementing the functions described in suchsteps.

As previously indicated, embodiments of the present invention may bepracticed in a networked environment using logical connections to one ormore remote computers having processors. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that such network computing environments may encompass manytypes of computers, including personal computers, hand-held devices,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and so on.Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced in distributedcomputing environments where tasks are performed by local and remoteprocessing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links, wirelesslinks, or by a combination of hardwired or wireless links) through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

An exemplary system for implementing the overall system or portions ofthe invention might include a general purpose computing computers in theform of computers, including a processing unit, a system memory, and asystem bus that couples various system components including the systemmemory to the processing unit. The system memory may include read onlymemory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). The computer may alsoinclude a magnetic hard disk drive for reading from and writing to amagnetic hard disk, a magnetic disk drive for reading from or writing toa removable magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive for reading from orwriting to a removable optical disk such as a CD ROM or other opticalmedia. The drives and their associated machine-readable media providenonvolatile storage of machine-executable instructions, data structures,program modules and other data for the computer. It should also be notedthat the word “terminal” as used herein is intended to encompasscomputer input and output devices. Input devices, as described herein,include a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, joystick or other input devicesperforming a similar function. The output devices, as described herein,include a computer monitor, printer, facsimile machine, or other outputdevices performing a similar function.

It should be noted that although the diagrams herein may show a specificorder and composition of method steps, it is understood that the orderof these steps may differ from what is depicted. For example, two ormore steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence.Also, some method steps that are performed as discrete steps may becombined, steps being performed as a combined step may be separated intodiscrete steps, the sequence of certain processes may be reversed orotherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete processes may bealtered or varied. The order or sequence of any element or apparatus maybe varied or substituted according to alternative embodiments.Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included withinthe scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.Such variations will depend on the software and hardware systems chosenand on designer choice. It is understood that all such variations arewithin the scope of the invention. Likewise, software and webimplementations of the present invention could be accomplished withstandard programming techniques with rule based logic and other logic toaccomplish the various database searching steps, correlation steps,comparison steps and decision steps.

The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of theabove teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principalsof the invention and its practical application to enable one skilled inthe art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Othersubstitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may be made in thedesign, operating conditions and arrangement of the embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as expressed in theappended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method implemented by a mobile device,the method comprising: initiating an image sensor of the mobile deviceto detect imagery via one or more lenses of the image sensor;displaying, on a display screen of the mobile device, the imagerydetected by the image sensor; overlaying, on the displayed imagery, aguide box having edges of a first color; detecting, by the image sensorand within the guide box, a check within the imagery; responsive todetecting the check within the guide box, (i) changing the edges of theguide box to a second color to indicate that the check is detected, (ii)capturing a check image using the image sensor of the mobile device, and(iii) storing the check image in a memory of the mobile device; applyingan optical character recognition (OCR) algorithm to the check image todetect a presence of one or more characters within the check image andpositions of the one or more characters in the check image; determininga certainty score for each of the one or more characters within thecheck image; assigning a respective tag to each of a subset of the oneor more characters that have a certainty score above a first certaintythreshold; determining, based at least in part on the respective tag ofeach of the subset of the one or more characters, a confidence level fora restricted endorsement in the check image, the confidence levelcorresponding to (i) whether the positions of the subset of the one ormore characters of the restricted endorsement are within a predeterminedarea of the check image and (ii) the subset of the one or morecharacters of the restricted endorsement form a predetermined word orphrase; and transmitting, responsive to the confidence level satisfyinga predetermined threshold, the check image to a check processingcomputer system, causing the check processing computer system toautomatically deposit funds based on the restricted endorsement.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the confidence level is determined based on apercentage of recognizable characters within the restricted endorsement.3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that therestricted endorsement is within a specified area in the check image inresponse to determining that the confidence level is above a confidencethreshold.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning asecond tag to a character of the one or more characters having thecertainty score between the first certainty threshold and a secondcertainty threshold, wherein the second certainty threshold is lowerthan the first certainty threshold; displaying, on the display screen ofthe mobile device, a request to validate the character having the secondtag; responsive to the request to validate the character having thesecond tag, receiving, by the mobile device, validated characterscorresponding to the character having the second tag; and revising theconfidence level for the restricted endorsement based on the characterhaving a first tag and the second tag.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: assigning a third tag to a character having the certaintyscore below the second certainty threshold, displaying, on the displayscreen of the mobile device, a request to enter the character having thethird tag; responsive to the request to enter the character having thethird tag, receiving entered characters corresponding to the characterhaving the third tag; and revising the confidence level for therestricted endorsement based on the character having the first tag, thesecond tag, and the third tag.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising displaying, on the display screen of the mobile device, thecheck image.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, onthe display screen on a first side of the mobile device, the check imagedetected by the image sensor disposed on the first side of the mobiledevice.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, on thedisplay screen on a first side of the mobile device, the check imagedetected by the image sensor disposed on a second side of the mobiledevice, the first side disposed opposing the second side on the mobiledevice.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting anamount associated with the check image to an institution to trigger atransfer of funds into a user account, the funds equal to the amount.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, responsiveto the confidence level satisfying a specified confidence threshold, anamount associated with the check image to an institution to trigger atransfer of funds into a user account, the funds equal to the amount.11. A computer system comprising: a mobile device comprising an imagesensor configured to detect imagery via one or more lenses of the imagesensor, the mobile device comprising a processor coupled to a memory,wherein the processor is configured to: display, on a display screen ofthe mobile device, the imagery detected by the image sensor; overlay, onthe displayed imagery, a guide box having edges of a first color;detect, by the image sensor and within the guide box, a check within theimagery; responsive to detecting the check within the guide box, (i)change the edges of the guide box to a second color to indicate that thecheck is detected, (ii) capture a check image using the image sensor ofthe mobile device, and (iii) store the check image in the memory of themobile device; apply an optical character recognition (OCR) algorithm tothe check image to detect a presence of one or more characters withinthe check image and positions of the one or more characters in the checkimage; determine a certainty score for each of the one or morecharacters within the check image; assign a respective tag to each of asubset of the one or more characters that have a determined certaintyscore above a first certainty threshold; determine, based at least inpart on the respective tag of each of the subset of the one or morecharacters, a confidence level for a restricted endorsement in the checkimage, the confidence level corresponding to (i) whether the positionsof the subset of the one or more characters of the restrictedendorsement are within a predetermined area of the check image and (ii)the subset of the one or more characters of the restricted endorsementform a predetermined word or phrase; and transmitting, responsive to theconfidence level satisfying a predetermined threshold, the check imageto a check processing computer system, causing the check processingcomputer system to automatically deposit funds based on the restrictedendorsement.
 12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the confidencelevel is determined based on a percentage of recognizable characterswithin the restricted endorsement.
 13. The computer system of claim 11,wherein the processor is further configured to determine that therestricted endorsement is within a specified area in the check image inresponse to determining that the confidence level is above a confidencethreshold.
 14. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: assign a second tag to a character of the one ormore characters having the certainty score between the first certaintythreshold and a second certainty threshold, wherein the second certaintythreshold is lower than the first certainty threshold; display, on thedisplay screen of the mobile device, a request to validate the characterhaving the second tag; responsive to the request to validate thecharacter having the second tag, receive validated characterscorresponding to the character having the second tag; and revise theconfidence level for the restricted endorsement based on the characterhaving a first tag and the second tag.
 15. The computer system of claim14, wherein the processor is further configured to: assign a third tagto a character having the certainty score below the second certaintythreshold, display, on the display screen of the mobile device, arequest to enter the character having the third tag; responsive to therequest to enter the character having the third tag, receive enteredcharacters corresponding to the character having the third tag; andrevise the confidence level for the restricted endorsement based on thecharacter having the first tag, the second tag, and the third tag. 16.The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to display, on the display screen on a first side of themobile device, the check image detected by the image sensor disposed onthe first side of the mobile device.
 17. The computer system of claim11, wherein the processor is further configured to display, on thedisplay screen on a first side of the mobile device, the check imagedetected by the image sensor disposed on a second side of the mobiledevice, the first side disposed opposing the second side on the mobiledevice.
 18. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor isfurther configured to transmit an amount associated with the check imageto an institution to trigger a transfer of funds into a user account,the funds equal to the amount.
 19. The computer system of claim 11,wherein the processor is further configured to transmit, responsive tothe confidence level satisfying a specified confidence threshold, anamount associated with the check image to an institution to trigger atransfer of funds into a user account, the funds equal to the amount.20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores one ormore programs configured to be executed by one or more processors of amobile device, the one or more programs including instructions for:initiating an image sensor of the mobile device to detect imagery viaone or more lenses of the image sensor; displaying, on a display screenof the mobile device, the imagery detected by the image sensor;overlaying, on the displayed imagery, a guide box having edges of afirst color; detecting, by the image sensor and within the guide box, acheck within the imagery; responsive to detecting the check within theguide box, (i) changing the edges of the guide box to a second color toindicate that the check is detected, (ii) capturing a check image usingthe image sensor of the mobile device, and (iii) storing the check imagein a memory of the mobile device; applying an optical characterrecognition (OCR) algorithm to the check image to detect a presence ofone or more characters within the check image and positions of the oneor more characters in the check image; determining a certainty score foreach of the one or more characters within the check image; assigning arespective tag to each of a subset of the one or more characters thathave a certainty score above a first certainty threshold; determining,based at least in part on the respective tag of each of the subset ofthe one or more characters, a confidence level for a restrictedendorsement in the check image, the confidence level corresponding to(i) whether the positions of the subset of the one or more characters ofthe restricted endorsement are within a predetermined area of the checkimage and (ii) the subset of the one or more characters of therestricted endorsement form a predetermined word or phrase; andtransmitting, responsive to the confidence level satisfying apredetermined threshold, the check image to a check processing computersystem, causing the check processing computer system to automaticallydeposit funds based on the restricted endorsement.